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ABSTRACT, There are gaps in the Social and Ethical issues literature regarding the structure of individual ethical reasoning and the process through which personal ethical standards erode or decline. Social Penetration Theory may be used to view ethical issues of low, moderate, or high salience. It also produces a model of the process by which an individual turns to less desirable ethical reasoning and behavior.
Ethical decisions and moral dilemmas have garnered intense scrutiny over the past few decades. Many new books have been written on the subject. These texts consider ethical topics such as moral obligations of companies in the areas of hiring, promotion, retention, "glass ceilings," sexual harassment, discrimination, privacy, plant closings, labor negotiations, financial decisions, product liability, truth in advertising and sales tactics, working in the global marketplace, and many more (Ferrell and Fraedrich, 1994; Hartley, 1993; Hosmer, 1991).
At the same time, there are also individual ethical issues to be considered. Stealing, cheating on time cards, padding expense accounts, using political behaviors to gain promotions or get others fired, plus many other individual behaviors are part of the ethical (and unethical) climate which has captured the attention of academics and practitioners in the field of management.
Unfortunately, theory-building in the area of ethical decision-making is badly lagging other developments. As Ferrell and Fraedrich (1994) note, there are models to explain how personal moral philosophies, opportunities, cultures, and other things may affect decisions, yet there is no descriptive framework to explain how specific individuals make ethical decisions in specific situations. We seem to have many "pictures" of ethical issues, but have no real "frame" from which to examine the images.
There are two major issues to be addressed in this work. (1) Current work in the area of individual decision-making does not have a theoretical basis from which to proceed, and (2) there is insufficient attention paid to the manner in which personal ethical codes "break down," leading to unethical decisions and behaviors. Social Penetration Theory may be used to examine both of these concerns.
This paper will be presented in the following sections. First, Social Penetration Theory (Altman and Taylor, 1973; Baack, 1991) will be explained in its most general form. Second, the theory will be used to examine the...